Washington, DC – On Friday, May 20, the Cleveland American Middle East Organization (CAMEO) will honor Arab American Institute (AAI) President Dr. James Zogby for his work to empower Arab Americans and his contributions to the Cleveland community at the St. Elias Cultural Center.

WHAT: CAMEO awards Dr. James Zogby, AAI President

WHEN: Friday, May 20, 2016; Doors Open 6:30PM / Dinner 7:30PM

WHERE: St. Elias Cultural Center, 8023 Memphis Avenue, Brooklyn, Ohio

Dr. James Zogby

For more than 30 years, Zogby has been at the forefront of Arab American political activism. Playing a key role in the bedrock organizations of the Arab American community, Zogby co-founded and chaired the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the late 1970s, and later co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private non-profit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief organization which funded health care for Palestinian and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare projects in Lebanon. In 1985, Zogby founded AAI, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. Zogby and AAI have led Arab American efforts to secure political empowerment in the U.S. through voter registration, education and mobilization.

In 2010, Zogby published the highly-acclaimed book, Arab Voices. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee and was appointed by President Obama to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2013. USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. Dr. Zogby was reappointed to a second term in 2015.

CAMEO:

For 46 years, CAMEO has worked to articulate the political interests of more than 100,000 Northeastern Ohio residents of Middle Eastern heritage. CAMEO believes in the diversity of religious and political philosophies of its membership. CAMEO membership comes with a commitment to local political action that enhances the voting strength and amplifies the profile of Arab Americans in Northeastern Ohio.